Politics and Policy Processes for Green Energy Transition and Climate Neutrality: A Project Report - Ratio

PublikationArtikel (utan peer review)

Politics and Policy Processes for Green Energy Transition and Climate Neutrality: A Project Report

Sammanfattning

This policy report outlines the group research on advocacy, decision-making, and EU policy change towards green energy transition and climate neutrality, focusing on resource- and energy-efficient buildings, as well as energy efficiency more broadly within the EU’s Fit for 55 legislative packages. The research also includes analyses of advocacy and decision-making related to EU policy change for decarbonizing maritime shipping. The project explores how stakeholder coalitions shape policies for sustainable environments since decision-making is influenced by stakeholders and conflicts of interest. By providing better insight into EU policy change dynamics, this report offers valuable knowledge that can enhance policymakers’ understanding of how to influence future EU policies on energy efficiency and building energy performance, as well as a clean energy transition more broadly, promoting Swedish interests. It highlights the complexity of decision-making in energy efficiency and climate impact reduction within the EU while also underscoring the influence of stakeholders and conflicts of interest. As a result, actors with inadequate grasp of political dynamics can hinder effective energy policy design and implementation, posing challenges to achieving climate goals and sustainable development. Similarly, since negotiations are key to advance regulation, it is found that less politicization and polarization facilitate deliberative negotiations and policy-oriented learning, among other things. Thus, strategic advocacy is crucial for Swedish policymakers aiming to successfully influence future EU energy and climate policies.

Gamez, D. B., von Malmborg, F., Nordensvärd, J., Björklund, M., & La Fleur, L. (2024). Politics and Policy Processes for Green Energy Transition and Climate Neutrality: A Project Report. Linköping University Electronic Press.

Liknande innehåll

Artikel (med peer review)

Reviewing the EU policy nexus of energy efficiency and social policy

Nordensvard, J., Björklund, M., von Malmborg, F., La Fleur, L., Skogsmo, E., & Gamez, D. H. B.

Publiceringsår

2025

Publicerat i

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Sammanfattning

This paper aims to analyse how the European Union (EU) energy policy has merged social policy concepts with energy efficiency policy. Energy efficiency has increasingly become understood through social policy concepts such as energy poverty, energy inequality, and lack of cohesion. Previous research has shown how the social aspects of energy efficiency have been highlighted by the European Commission when discussing the multiple benefits of increased energy efficiency efforts, such as building renovations.

Using a mixed-method approach with material from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament, we review energy policy from a social policy perspective. The analysis is conducted in two steps. First, we identify which EU institutions acted as agenda-setters in introducing the social aspects of energy efficiency. Second, we describe and analyse the framing process through which social concepts are merged with energy policy.

The study combines qualitative and quantitative analyses of EU policy documents. A set of key words is used in the quantitative analysis to explore the links between social policy and energy policy.

We conclude that social aspects were first connected to the energy policy field by the European Parliament. This connection was later reinforced by the European Commission through the inclusion of social policy elements, particularly in policies addressing the transition to energy efficiency and zero-carbon buildings, where concepts such as energy poverty have become central.

Politik och omställning för grön energiomställning och klimatneutralitet

Skogsmo, E., Björklund, M., Gamez, D. B., La Fleur, L., & Nordensvärd, J.

Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Linköping University Electronic Press

Sammanfattning

Här sammanfattas vår forskning om påverkansarbete, beslutsfattande och förändring av EU:s politik för grön energiomställning och klimatneutralitet. Fokus ligger på resurs- och energieffektiva byggnader, men även energieffektivisering mer generellt och andra områden inom EU:s lagstiftningspaket Fit for 55. Beslutsfattandet kring energieffektivitet och minskad klimatpåverkan är komplext och påverkas av olika faktorer, inklusive intressenter, intressekonflikter och strategier. Bristande förståelse för politiska dynamiker kan hindra effektiv utformning och genomförande av energipolitik, vilket i sin tur kan försvåra arbetet med att uppnå klimatmål och främja hållbar utveckling. I våra projekt lämnas kunskap om processerna kring beslutsfattande och förändring av EU-politiken. Här presenteras ett kunskapsunderlag att dels påverka framtida EU-direktiv om energieffektivitet och byggnaders energiprestanda, dels främja svensk innovation och förbättra implementering av energieffektiviserande åtgärder i byggd miljö i Sverige såväl som EU och globalt. Resultaten visar att en djupare förståelse för sociala, politiska och institutionella faktorer är avgörande för att effektivt driva hållbar energipolitik. Vi betonar även behovet av ökad transparens för lobbyister för att säkerställa en rättvis och öppen politisk process.

Artikel (med peer review)

Going beyond the Council as brake of EU energy policy: Analysing the internal process of the Council in the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

Björklund, M., von Malmborg, F., La Fleur, L., & Nordensvärd, J.

Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Energy Policy

Sammanfattning

The Council is the voice of the member states’ governments in the EU policymaking process and the institutional setting where member states can enforce their national interest. The literature on Council decision-making has previously mostly used expert interviews or voting patterns. Through a detailed examination of one specific legislative file in the recent ‘Fit for 55’ climate package in which subsidiarity and varying national conditions is central, this study focus on how disagreements between member states are resolved and how strategic word framing can aid in resolving political controversies in EU energy policy. This article analyses Council working group meeting notes and revisions of the recent recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, providing a unique look behind the curtains of negotiations between member states in the Council within a deliberative intergovernmental framework. A mix of quantitative and qualitative text analysis is applied to deliberations and legislative revisions. The findings show that a fragile consensus is reached despite disagreement through enabling of national flexibility in policy decisions, indicating that the Council determines the speed of European integration in the policy domain.